Paul and the Weedkiller
by DonaldDouglasandToby6
Summary: After many years of maintenance work in Wales, Paul the new Diesel isn't thrilled to be taking The Weedkiller Train while Rusty has other work. He rushes the job and spills weedkiller all over the rails, causing a nasty accident.


Paul is a very stubborn engine indeed.

When he first arrived, he caused chaos at the Blue Mountain Quarry and Ulfstead Castle.

Since then he's not been _as_ reckless, but is still unkind to the engines.

"Hurry up morons! We've got to make this day count!" he said in the shed.

"Who put _you_ in charge?" asked Peter Sam.

"Me."

"Isn't that biased?" asked Madge, who was getting ready to take Fred the Diesel to Lakeside.

"Of course not." grinned the Diesel.

He especially hates taking goods and maintenance.

One day, the Thin Controller arrived to the sheds.

"I'm pleased to say that you've improved Paul." he said, "Somewhat..."

"Thank you sir," said Paul.

"And since Rusty is busy up at the quarry, I'm placing you with maintenance work."

Paul was shocked.

"Maintenance? But sir, you know how much I hate maintenance!"

"Yes, yes, I know, but I don't really have a choice. Everybody else has their own jobs to do."

"What sort of maintenance am I even doing?" grumbled Paul.

"You're pulling the Weedkiller Train." explained the Thin Controller, "Fred used to take it, but he failed, so I gave it to Rusty. You're the next in line. You take weedkiller along the line and kill weeds."

Paul was not happy, but before he could interject, the Thin Controller was talking to Mighty Mac.

Paul was cross, but wasn't willing to complain in front of the Thin Controller.

But as soon as he left on his bike, Paul complained like anything.

"I don't like maintenance," he grumbled.

"You've never done it before," said Mighty, "and who knows, you might like it."

"In Wales, I did maintenance all the time. Some called me 'Mait" because of it. I barely even had time to do anything else. It was day by day... I hated it then and I will hate it now too." Paul fumed.

"Oh." said Mac gravely, "Well, maybe this will be different."

"Pah!" and Paul rolled out of the shed into the yard.

Rusty was at the yard when Paul arrived.

"Thank you for doing my maintenance work for today Paul. I suppose I have to give some warnings though." said Rusty.

Paul rolled his eyes.

"Fine, what stupid warnings do you have for me?"

"First off, make sure the weedkiller doesn't spill over the track; it could cause an accident."

Paul yawned.

"And also give the workmen enough time to spray the weeds or else they won't die."

"What's so bad about weeds anyway?" grumbled Paul.

"Weeds grow in the ballast, which makes the ballast foul and can also cause drainage problems."

Paul snorted.

"Well, I have to go help Luke. Bye Paul, and don't screw this up!" and Rusty oiled away.

"That fuddy duddy worries too much," chuckled Paul as he was coupled up to some square tankers, which are used to transport Diesel oil, tar, and weedkiller, as well as other things.

"I'll be fine... I've done it before." Paul muttered as he was given the "all clear".

Paul rolled along the line past Crovan's Gate to a woodland area before Cros-ny-Curim.

"Woah there," called his driver, "We have to stop, Paul."

"Ugh." the Diesel sighed as he stopped where the ballast was covered in weeds.

"Bother," grumbled Paul, "Hurry up, hurry up!"

The workmen were cross.

"We respect our job, unlike you." one scolded.

"And we don't boss each other around, either." added another.

Paul was furious.

"I'll show you!" and he jerked forward, spilling some of the weedkiller.

"Uh oh..." a workman whispered, but no-one heard him.

"We have to keep moving," said the foreman, "So move it."

So Paul and the workmen went ahead, and the weedkiller was now all over the tracks.

Paul slowly went through the woodland area, including Valley View Lake, and soon all the ballast was sprayed.

"Can I go home now?" complained Paul.

"No," said his driver, "There's another area out by Rheneas."

"Oooh..." groaned Paul and he scurried off towards Rheneas Station, while passing Glennock.

At Rheneas Station, there were an appalling amount of weeds.

"Bust my buffers," said Paul, unimpressed, "This is the worst station I ever saw! What happened to this wreck?!"

"Calm down, this is why we're here," said the foreman, "We'll get rid of these weeds in no time."

So the workmen sprayed the ballast while Paul sat impatiently.

"Hurry up you plant-haters."

The foreman turned around, and he looked rather offended.

"We don't hate plants in general, we just hate weeds. Didn't Rusty tell you what weeds do to ballast?"

Paul thought for a moment.

"Uh... yeah."

"So therefore you have no justified reason to try and say we hate plants. I personally love oak trees." and the foreman went back to work.

Paul sulked in silence.

"The nerve some people have!" he thought.

Meanwhile, Freddie was taking a supply of bricks up to the Mountain Village; he had just collected them from The Wharf and he had to hurry or else he would be late.

"The Fastest Engine in the Hills will get these on time," Freddie said to himself.

He neared the woodland area and blew his whistle.

"I'm going to take this curve fast," he said to his driver.

"Alright, just be careful."

Freddie smiled broadly as the curved track drew nearer and nearer.

"Ha ha, this'll be easy." he chuckled.

But then there was trouble.

As Freddie took the curve, his wheels slipped on the weedkiller and he flew off the tracks and crashed into some rocks beside the line.

"Trembling tracks!" cried Freddie, "I'm going to feel that in the morning...!"

His crew had jumped just before the crash, and luckily weren't seriously injured.

All the same, Freddie's driver was confused.

"Rusty isn't this careless," said his driver.

She scratched her head.

"Hmm... Who's pulling the Weedkiller Train today?" asked the fireman.

"Rusty usually pulls it, but I hear he had to work at the Blue Mountain Quarry, so maybe it's Paul." she suggested.

Then realization dawned on Freddie.

"Paul! Of course! I'll bash his buffers when I get ouf of here!"

Paul had finished at Rheneas and was now at Skarloey Station.

"This is the last for today," said the driver, "since you spilled a great deal of weedkiller earlier."

Paul rolled his eyes.

"Good." he muttered under his breath.

Suddenly Sir Handel puffed in with a train of slate from the Blue Mountain Quarry, and he was furious.

"Paul! You have done something stupid! Again!"

Paul looked confused.

"What did I do this time?"

"You caused Freddie to derail with your stupid weedkiller! Now the villagers won't get their bricks!"

Paul was silent for a moment.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" asked Sir Handel.

Paul suddenly burst out laughing.

"Honestly, good one Sir Handey. Now if you excuse me-"

"This isn't a joke," cried Sir Handel, "I puffed past the Woodland Bend and Freddie told me what happened!"

"Oh... Well, uh... I guess I have to get help." and Paul scurried away to fetch the Breakdown Crane.

Sir Handel continued to the Wharf, feeling confident he put Paul in his place.

Back at the crash site, Freddie sighed.

"Oh dear, I hate all this moss. It smells like dead bugs, and I'm not going fast at all." he grumbled.

Just then, Paul arrived with the Breakdown Train.

The chains were immediately fastened.

"Sorry Freddie... Heh..."

Freddie glared.

"You are such a reckless engine! Imagine if it was an engine taking passengers!"

Paul gulped, knowing what Freddie meant.

"Well, uh... At least they're bricks."

"The bricks dented me," complained Freddie, "Just look at me."

"I'd rather not," scoffed Paul as Freddie was put back on the rails.

"The trucks were smashed to pieces," continued Freddie angrily, "and it's your fault!"

"Yes, I know. I'm a moron, blah, blah. Now I have to get back to killing plants. Bye!"

Freddie was appalled as Paul just left him there in the middle of the line.

"Stupid engine." muttered his driver.

"...what about the bricks?" asked Freddie.

"Surely another engine will collect some more from The Wharf." comforted the driver.

"I hope so." moaned Freddie.

That night, Paul scurried back to the sheds at Crovan's Gate.

But Rusty and the Thin Controller were already there.

"...uh oh." Paul said quietly.

The two scolded him to no end.

"I told you not to screw up, yet you ruin everything!" cried Rusty.

"I'm sorry, really." said Paul. "I know you have improved since the quarry incident, but you still have a lot to learn. I guess Fred should've taken the Weedkiller Train instead..." sighed the Thin Controller, "You have to stop causing all these delays to my line. Mighty Mac almost crashed into Freddie after you just left him on the line! It's a good thing his driver had warning flags."

Paul looked at his buffers.

"Yeah, and we could've gone to the Steamworks too!" agreed Mac.

"Clumsy Buffers," muttered Mighty.

"You better do something about your attitude," finished Rusty.

The night ended on a bad note and Paul realized that he needed to lighten his act, and fast.


End file.
